It was a passing comment yesterday that inspired my thinking today...
Someone saw me on the mountain yesterday and made that old chestnut statement..."the life of a Pastor aye?" It is not the first or last time I will hear it.
It was a tuesday and I guess they guessed that being a pastor means that I have tons of free time to go skiing whenever I feel like it. Maybe they think I am wealthy and I can do anything I want? And maybe I should have had a good reply, but I just didn't.
I simply shrugged my shoulders and carried on with my day.
What they were most certainly unaware of was that I stupidly hardly ever take a day off (something I am trying to fix) and someone else's extreme generosity meant I had this amazing opportunity.

Now please don't think that this is a rant to justify myself!
I have a bigger meaning for sharing this little story.

It is this...

That most people have no idea what someone else's life is like!
They can't. It is not totally feasible because we are all unique and have our own challenges or circumstances we deal with. And I don't for a minute expect everyone to understand me or 'get me'.

What this event reminded me of was that as follower of Christ I should be doing things differently.
Scripture teaches us that God doesn't look only at the outside of someone, that He looks at the heart of a man or woman.
Scripture tells us to pray for each other and look for any reason to love one another.
Scripture explains that a wise person checks out their own issues before attempting to judge someone else's.
You probably get the idea...

So this week, can I encourage you with this?
That when you see someone else please don't assume anything about them?
Pray for them at the very lest. Maybe even get to know them better?
What about being happy for someones else's blessing that are getting to experience?
And what about making sure empathy rises in our hearts when we see someone else's struggles?

I think at least in part that is what Jesus would like us to do...

Something to think about...